


Dreamin'

by Bubbly_Kandy



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Child Link (Legend of Zelda), Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Nightmares, This is set in whatever child link timeline your heart desires, i didnt make any details too specific
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 19:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20013601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bubbly_Kandy/pseuds/Bubbly_Kandy
Summary: No one ever mentions how the Hero of Hyrule was a child; one that was the same age as the children he ran across on his adventures.





	Dreamin'

The child made no slow work when he came into the inn. He shook off the rain as a dog would from his head, stamped his brown boots on the floor, and curled and relaxed his hands in order to get the blood flowing again. He then looked toward the innkeeper, who stared right back down at the kid. 

"No weapons in the rooms." 

The child squinted at him- the innkeeper merely looked back at him, pointing at the table filled with weapons of all kinds. 

"Put 'em over there. I'll keep 'em safe for ya." The child did so slowly, hesitantly; it was almost as if it pained him to unbuckle the sword from his back. He then threw his bow right over the sword, dumping the arrows on it loudly. The clattering made the innkeeper grind his teeth, but he kept quiet.

Soon the kid was done dumping his things on the table, and he headed over to where the innkeeper was. He slammed ten rupees in front of him, his big blue eyes looking up at the innkeeper expectedly. He wasn't more than twelve, the innkeeper noticed. 

"Well, I ain't got any more rooms," the innkeeper started, the boys' lip starting to curl up in disappointment. "But! The chair in front of the fire?" The innkeeper pointed towards the fireplace, the childs' eyes following his hand. "Best place in the house. Ten rupees. Whaddya say?" 

The child thought about it, then nodded- he went up to the chair, pushing on the cushions and testing how squishy they were. Once he determined that it was soft enough for him, he found the blanket next to the chair, wrapping it around his shoulders like a cape. 

It was odd how quiet he was- most kids his age would be jumping around, asking questions left and right and trying to touch everything. However, this kid said barely anything. He kicked off his shoes (which squelched once he began to pull his foot out), and curled up on the chair, staring into the fire. 

Now, the innkeeper is a decent guy. He wasn't one to let any one man come into his inn and leave with only some sleep under his belt, no! He was a decent man, which is why he fired up the stove and put on a pot of meat stew, along with some warm milk. He could feel the childs' eyes on him as he worked, but he nearly threw everything into the air when he turned around to see that, somehow, the boy came from the chair to right behind him without making a single sound. 

"Good Goddess, kid!" He yelped, nearly throwing his knife right into the rafter above him. "Can't go sneaking around, scarin' an old man like myself like that! You'll kill someone, doin' that." The child flinched- it was barely there, but he saw the shoulders go up as the childs' emotionless face flickered into something uncomfortable. "Ah, did I hit somethin'? Sorry 'bout that, but it's the truth, sonny." 

The child didn't move from his stance. The innkeeper had to move around him, the awkwardness heightened by the fact that the child was watching him cook, with his big blue eyes and unsettling stare. He kept his eyes on the innkeeper the entire time as he cooked, rocking slightly back and forth on his heels. 

Soon, the meal was ready. The innkeeper poured the stew into a bowl, and the milk into a cup. The child took both in his hands, retreating back to the chair before he could offer him a spoon for the stew. The innkeeper just shrugged, cleaning up his mess. He could hear quiet drinking sounds from over where the boy was, the only noise he had made all night. Lightning flickered seconds before thunder boomed from outside, the innkeeper whistling at how it shook the dust from his pots above his head. 

"That's a boomer!" He said, the child settling down his bowl, now empty. "Thank Goddess you came into my inn before the worst of it came, eh?" 

The child shrugged, but made no noise. He drained the rest of his milk from his cup, then wrapped himself back in his blanket. The innkeeper came by to pick up the boys' dishes, the boy huffing at him before taking off his hat and running his fingers through his hair.

"Woo!" The innkeeper said, the child looking up at him through his elbows, his fingers still in his hair. "That's one grease ball y' got there- if you were one of my own, I'd make ya go out with some soap and wash that rats nest out!" 

The boy didn't smile. He only went back to what he was doing, pulling out his old hair-holder and pulling on it with his two pointer fingers. When it snapped, he huffed again, throwing the band into the fire. The innkeeper reached into his pocket, pulling out a new hair-holder and throwing it to the child, the boy catching it and looking at him with wide eyes.

"What can I say?" The innkeeper joked, holding both his hands up. "We Hylians all haveta have at least  _ one  _ hair tie, eh?" 

The boy stared at him, then nodded once, pulling his hair into a tail in the back, which he tied with his new hair tie. The innkeeper decided not to celebrate the small crack he was able to make in the childs' wall- he sat back down in his chair, the boy curling up in his makeshift bed. 

Now, the innkeeper is a proud man. He's proud of his inn, and how much money it makes- but, he must admit, it tuckered him out mighty. He tried to keep his eyes open, but the sound of the rain pattering on the ceiling as the boys' breathing grew deep and slow from over near the fire made it extremely difficult to keep his heavy eyes open for much longer…

Until the childs' breathing went from deep and slow to quicker, more like he was panting. The innkeeper felt himself wake up quickly as he looked over at the boy, getting up out of his seat to see what was ailing him. What his stew or milk the culprit? How insulting!

As he got closer, he saw that the boys' hands were twitching from where they were, curled in front of his face like two pink, oddly shaped shells. His eyebrows drew together at times, then relaxed, then drew together again. The innkeeper could even see that, under the blanket, the childs' feet looked like a small animal was scampering around. Now, that wasn't  _ too  _ bad. Most children got twitchy as they slept, it was just their endless energy that flowed through them. The innkeeper couldn't help but smile a little at the sight, turning on his heel and going back to his chair-

Then the child began to  _ scream.  _ The innkeeper could barely even tell it was screaming at first- it was high pitched, muffled by the boy not opening his mouth, and it rose and lowered in volume, like an eerie alarm. The innkeeper spun back around on his heel, noticing that the rather cute scampering under the blankets was replaced with full on frantic kicking, the twitching shells of the boys hands turning into flailing fists as his unnerving screaming kept going. 

The innkeeper watched the scene, racking his brain on what to do. He touched the childs' shoulder gently, immediately regretting it as the child flinched away, his screaming growing louder. He was tangled fully in the sheets, his legs barely able to kick. The boys' mouth opened, his screams piercing through the calm rain outside and making the innkeeper anxious on what would happen if someone woke up and got the wrong idea-

Suddenly, the boy woke up. His scream was cut short as he startled awake, his breathing closer to hyperventilating. His hands dropped to rest beside his head, his legs stopping their struggle. The boy looked up at the innkeeper, his eyes wide and growing misty.

Comforting people while they were asleep? The innkeeper could never understand how to do that. Now, comforting people who were already  _ awake?  _ The man could handle that easily. 

"You're alright, sonny," the innkeeper said softly, the boy swallowing thickly. "Can y' sit up for me?" The boy shook his head rapidly, the man nodding and sitting in the chair across from him. "Naw, I didn't think you'd wanta do that." The man rested one foot on the other knee, leaning back. "Now, I don't want t' stress ya out too much, but can you tell me your name? It'll help me out a bunch." 

Instead of speaking, the boy held up his fingers in the shape of an L. At the innkeepers nod, he pulled his thumb in so it spelled an I, then an N, then a K.

"Y' names Link?" The innkeeper chuckled at the boys' nod, nodding. "Alright then, Link. Odd name, eh?" Link shrugged, rolling on his side to face the innkeeper better. "Though I suppose it's not the oddest out there- have you seen what those younger Hylians are naming their children these days?" He scoffed, Link huffing through his nose. "Say, what's that huffing thing a' yours mean?" 

Link shifted so he could use both of his hands better, then put one finger on both sides of his mouth, pushing them up into a smile. He then pulled then down, so he was frowning. Finally, he let his mouth go back to its' natural line, his fingers tapping twice before he dropped them. 

"So, it means just about everythin' under the sun?" The innkeeper concluded, Link's face falling into irritation as he gave a thumbs up. "Ah. That's easier ta' understand, now." The innkeeper nodded, drumming his fingers on the arms of his chair. "Alright then, Link. How do you feel about carrots?" 

The two talked for what seemed like hours, the innkeeper saying something and either Link having his face tell it all, or carefully spelling out his replies using his fingers. Though most would say Link's simple, mostly one word answers would mean that the innkeeper was carrying the entire conversation himself, the innkeeper would object. Link said much more than just one word with his simple answers, his expressions and the way his fingers would move to spell his answer gave the innkeeper more than spoken word ever truly could. 

Soon, Link was relaxed. A smile was on his face as he sat up on the chair, spelling out answers almost quicker than the innkeeper could read his finger signs. He laughed, many times- his laugh sounded like it belonged on the streets with the children playing, rather than a boy who had a sword, a bow and arrows,  _ and  _ a multitude of poisons and such in his bag, which had rolled open by his feet. 

At the end of one of the innkeepers stories, he managed to take a look at the time-

"Woo!" He said, sitting forward. "I would say we talked all night long! You, my boy, need rest!" 

Link's hands sank, his smile falling as well. The innkeeper got up, heading into his kitchen and clattering around to find some tea that, surprisingly, the innkeeper still had an abundance of. When he turned around to grab a mug, he once again almost threw something when Link was right behind him, looking up at him. 

"What did I tell ya about doin' that, kiddo?" The innkeeper asked, Link shrugging one of his shoulders. "You could kill an old man like me, playin' that trickery!" 

Link trudged back to his chair, the innkeeper quickly grabbing a mug, threw a tea bag in, and poured hot water over the whole affair. He then was able to pull ahead of Link in order to untangle the sheets, settling one half of the blanket over one arm of the chair. Link crawled onto the chair and let the innkeeper tuck him in, like a child only slightly younger than he. The innkeeper then hurried back over to where he was brewing tea, pulling the tea bag out of the cup. He carried it over to Link, the child holding his face over the steam. A calm smile spread over his face.

"Now, drink up!" The innkeeper told him once the tea cooled a bit, Link taking a sip. "That stuff always knocks me right out- Goddess knows you need the sleep after tonight." The innkeeper patted Link's shoulder, heading back to his seat. "And don't be all scared now, alright? I'll be sittin' right here, and I'll talk to ya again if y' need me." 

Link gave him a thumbs up, taking more drinks of his tea. The innkeeper heard him set the mug down after a bit, the blankets rustling around as Link got himself comfortable. Soon, he heard the childs' breath grow deep and slow. When he got up to get the mug, he could see that Link was completely still; his chest was the only thing that moved on the whole couch. The innkeeper smiled, then took the mug back to the kitchen. 

When sunrise came, Link woke up. He pulled his now dry boots on, and compiled all of his weapons together on his back. He waved the innkeeper goodbye, then was gone.

Now, the innkeeper isn't one to brag about many things. He was a very personal man, keeping conversations to himself and not boasting his successes with the inn or anything else. Which is why, when he learned that the Hero of Hyrule passed through last night, he didn't tell anyone about the little boy that slept on his chair that night. 

**Author's Note:**

> Link is a FETUS who thought it was a good idea to give him a sword much less have him defeat baddies? Demise you're a real asshole buddy
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a kudos or comment if you did!


End file.
